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AIR TRANSPORT.
FLIGHT International, 7 Oclober 1971
Latest acquisition of Cathay Pacific, which
celebrated its 25th anniversary at the end of
last month, is this 707-320B, seen in the
airline's new livery, taking off from Hong
Kong. Deputy chairman John Bremridge
takes the view that new equipment cannot
be bought purely for prestige purposes. The
only prestige the airline wants is "black ink
in our balance sheet," he said recently
industry, which has also been approved by the Government.
The development of Stol types was first discussed at
Government level in Italy early in 1969.
A-300B PROGRAMME REVISION
TOTAL cost of the Franco-German A-300B programme up
to full production flow in 1975 is expected to be just over
£600 million. This is of the same order of magnitude as the
programme costs of the Airbus's American rivals, the
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed TriStar (excluding
their engines).
A lobby in the German Parliament and Government is
apparently leaking information about cost increases,
which may come as a surprise to members of the Bonn
Parliament who had been thinking of the programme in
terms of its R&D costs only, that is to say just over £100
million for the German share.
A leader of the anti-Airbus lobby in the Bonn Cabinet
is Prof Leussinck, the Minister of Science and Education,
who wants priority for the VFW 614 (into which an addi
tional £15 million has recently been injected by the
Germans) and space projects as well as for new schools
and universities. Germany's "break-off" cost under the
contract is estimated to be £190 million.
The estimated research and development cost of the
A-300B-1, including six airframes for flight and ground test,
up to and including certification of this version, was £209
million. The figures vary below and above this, depending
on what is included; the price is in 1968 money values and
does not include inflation: —
£76 million
£ 8-5 million
£84-5 million
£84-5 million
£13 million
German Government
German industry (Deutsche Airbus)
Total German commitment
French Government
Netherlands Government
Hawker Siddeley (guaranteed by the
German Government)
Prototypes £13 million £14 million
Total £209 0 million
Additional money is now required for developing the
B-3 and stretched B-7 versions. The B-3 R&D cost is esti
mated to be about 13 per cent of the overall total, say
£27 million. Reliable German sources quote the develop
ment cost of the B-3 and B-7 together as £76 million. In
round figures, therefore, total R&D for the B-l and B-3 is
just under £240 million.
To this has of course to be added the cost of production
financing. This includes full tooling, materials, learning
and work-in-progress. This money will be raised in different
ways in France and Germany. In general it will not come
from government treasuries; the governments are being
asked to underwrite the risks.
The German figure is £275 million. An Airbus Industrie
spokesman said last weekend that the French figure would
be about 70 per cent of that, say £190 million. Information
from German sources that an additional very large sum—
about £275 million—for "marketing costs" is required, was
dismissed by the spokesman as nonsense.
Total cost of the A-300B programme thus amounts to
about £607 million. This sum is repayable over the expected
20-year production life of the aircraft.
lata in Honolulu The 27th annual general meeting of
lata will be held in Honolulu from November 15 to 18.
Floyd D. Hall, chairman and chief executive of Eastern,
will take over the presidency.
SAS Investment SAS plans call for spending $600 million
on new aircraft over the next ten years, with another $120
million to go on ground equipment. Annual growth rate
would slow from 12 per cent to 6 per cent, according to
Mr Knut Hagrup, president of the airline.
The first Aerospace Lines Guppy 201 outsize Stratocruiser conversion
was handed over to Airbus Industrie, the A-300B management organ
isation, at Toulouse on September 29. It will be operated for the Airbus
consortium by the UTA subsidiary, Aeromaritime, to transport sections
of the A-300B to Toulouse from Germany, Great Britain and the
Netherlands. UTA also has had plans to use the aircraft on ad hoc
charter work